


Nickname

by BlackKittens



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Headcanon, One Shot, Silly, Slice of Life, Some Plot, Sweet, Tadashi Hamada Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-12-17 08:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21051167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackKittens/pseuds/BlackKittens
Summary: As the gang eats breakfast on a Saturday morning, Fred and Hiro decide to deliberate on potential nicknames for Tadashi.





	Nickname

"Banana pancakes!" Fred rubbed his hands together excitedly as Aunt Cass set the plate down in front of him, followed by Gogo's potato pancakes in front of her. "My favorite kind of pancakes! Miss Cass, you have an _amazing_ café here, you know that?"

Aunt Cass chuckled and wiped a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Fred, and uh, you don't have to call me 'Miss.' All right, everybody got their breakfast?"

The gang gave out their affirmatives, digging into their respective plates of pancakes, muffins, bacon, and/or fruit slices.

"Thanks, Aunt Cass," Tadashi smiled.

Hiro held out his syrupy sticky fork, which a chunk of blueberry clung to. "You're the best, Aunt Cass!"

"Anytime!" she chirped, and with that, redirected her attention to another table.

It was an early Saturday morning. The sun had just risen over the horizon, bathing the streets outside with golden light that poured in through The Lucky Cat windows. The gang had an abundance of projects planned for the day, from study group sessions to advancing on their special projects (such as Gogo's bike and Wasabi's lasers) to personal ideas and plans they had sketched out and partially started. And of course Fred proposed they should end the day with some good ol' relaxation via online movies and popcorn.

Baymax stood not far from the table, on standby as the group dove into their breakfast. Tadashi had a few plans to update his coding to better assist medical professionals and their patients in the future. There was also the glitch associated with his battery depletion that Fred had lovingly nicknamed Drunk Mode, to Hiro's delighted laughter, that Tadashi found horrifyingly hilarious (he could only imagine the look on a frightened patient's face when a Baymax started flailing and blabbing nonsense in a manner akin to intoxication right in front of them - funny, yes, but utterly unprofessional and potentially harmful in a medical environment). He had to find a way to fix that. Which of course meant testing him out on low battery afterwards, which Hiro was looking forward to. Until then, their friendly neighborhood healthcare companion was hanging out alongside the rest of the group.

"So, you're going keep developing your microbots after all?" Tadashi asked Hiro, continuing their conversation from before their aunt brought over their food. "You're not going to put them aside or wait a while to work on them again?"

Hiro shook his head, stuffing a bite of pancake in his mouth. "They're my invention, not Callaghan's. I don't want to waste all the opportunities they have to help the world because he stole and misused them; their legacy should be better than that, I think. So, uh, yeah, I'm gonna keep developing them and see where I can take them. I'm thinking I might put in failsafes or some sort of outside switch to neutralize the neural transmitter if something like that happens again."

Honey Lemon nodded in agreement. "That's a good bet. None of us guessed what kind of harm its mind-control-like abilities could lead to, but in retrospect, we kind of should have. On the other hand, how could we have known something like that would have happened so soon?"

"You could not," Baymax interjected. "Even scanning one's emotional state is not always a good indicator to predict one's actions. Callaghan's plot to steal the microbots, regardless of how premediated they were, would have been almost impossible to guess ahead of time."

"Just goes to show what kind of people are out there," Wasabi cut into his food with a disapproving shake of his head. "What Callaghan did was still messed up."

Hiro slunk slightly in his seat. "Yeah, I-I know. That's why I'm going to make them better _and_ safer."

Tadashi smiled comfortingly and ruffled his hair, making Hiro scowl. "You'll do great, I know it. I'm glad he didn't completely destroy them for you."

Gogo swallowed a bite of her muffin while she toyed with her potato pancakes. "I'll say. I won't be surprised if you get a grant by the end of the year, genius."

Fred nodded. "Classic supervillain trope - steal the new invention while it's unfinished or still in beta. But yeah, dude, you'll do GREAT this year! The microbots are awesome!"

Hiro flushed. "Thanks, guys. Let's, uh, change the topic."

"Yes," Baymax agreed. "Hiro is currently experiencing: discomfort, likely from the conversation at hand."

"Thanks for the clarification, buddy," Hiro rolled his eyes, but reached out to pat Baymax's belly appreciatively.

Honey Lemon took that in and clapped her hands together, changing the subject. "Ooo! I have a new disintegration formula I want to try out on one of the rusted cars at the dump later today. If I'm right, the whole thing should dissolve in a matter of seconds! I need to record how long it takes, but my hypothesis is between five and ten seconds. Oh, and don't worry about the waste remains; they should be non-toxic to the environment. That's part of what makes this formula so great!"

"'Should,'" Wasabi repeated uneasily, lifting a chopped strawberry to his mouth on his fork. "Not are. Um, maaaybe you should test that part out a little bit more before you do; you don't want to find out what 'should' happen actually doesn't on something the size of a car."

"If the waste is indeed toxic," Baymax added, "it could poison the local watershed. That is not a risk I recommend taking."

"Hm," Honey Lemon tilted her head thoughtfully, "good points. Maybe I can find a bunch of spare parts instead and put them together in the labs and dissolve them over a tarp."

"That's a good start," Wasabi replied, and opened his mouth to eat the strawberry.

Only for it to promptly fall off the fork and land on his shirt.

Wasabi glared at his chest. "Come on."

Fred burst out laughing, throwing himself back against his chair. "Dude, looks like it's time to change your nickname to 'Strawberry!'"

Gogo pushed the food in her mouth to the side, against her cheek so she could speak. "Nice going, Strawberry."

"Strawberry," Tadashi grinned, "is that better or worse than 'Wasabi'?"

Wasabi gave them all a cold stare. "No. Nope. We're not doing that! 'Wasabi' is bad enough, don't you _dare_ try to change it to 'Strawberry.' It's definitely worse!"

Hiro sat up with a mischievous grin. "I don't know, from what I hear, you have a bad record of spilling food on your shirt. If you want 'Wasabi' back, you better go grab some and dump it on yourself, Strawberry."

Wasabi glowered at him. "Twice! I've spilled food on myself TWICE now! Only _two_ times! I hate these nicknames, why do we even go by them?"

"Because they're true and hilarious," Fred explained with a smug grin. "Gogo is always on the go-go, Honey Lemon is sweet but with a loveable yet surprising love for acids, like the sweetness of honey and surprising sourness of lemons, and you're - well, you spilled wasabi on yourself and it was just plain hilarious."

Wasabi turned his glower on him. "I will hit you one of these days."

Fred only smiled brightly.

Tadashi chuckled. "You're just waiting for the day he goes through with it, aren't you Fred? Don't be such a troll."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Fred closed his eyes and raised his nose high, bright smile not budging.

Hiro looked up at his brother curiously. "You know, if I remember right, Fred's nicknamed everyone but you by the time I met the gang and Baymax. How come you don't have a nickname, big brother?"

Tadashi blinked at the question. Huh. That was true, wasn't it? He'd known he was the only one without a nickname and once wondered what Fred was going to give him and when, but he hadn't thought about it in a long while. He shrugged. "I just don't. Fred, you got a better answer for him?"

Fred nodded and stroked his non-existent beard. "You see, young Hiro, the nicknames have to present themselves at the right time. Gogo almost runs people over with her bike, Honey Lemon is really kind and quiet but loves explosions, and Strawberry here is a messy eater."

"Wasabi!" Wasabi slammed a fist on the table. "Don't start, Fred! It's either that or my real name! In fact, why don't you just use my real name!?"

Fred smirked. "Oh, we're never using your real name again, bro. You know that!"

Wasabi groaned loud.

Gogo reached across the table to lightly knock him in the chest. "Quit whining. We're not seriously going to call you Strawberry. Wasabi is embarrassing enough."

"Thank you," he grouched.

"Anyway," Fred went on, "Tadashi's nickname hasn't presented itself yet. Just like yours hasn't."

"What?" Hiro snorted, lips quirking upwards. "I'm gonna have a nickname, too?"

"Everyone gets a nickname, little man."

"Then where's yours, Fred?" Tadashi inquired playfully. "Don't you wanna give yourself one if everyone gets one?"

Fred held up a finger, lifting his chin high. "They have to _present_ themselves, Tadashi! ...Or should I say...Doctor Roboto?"

Tadashi reeled back with a scoff. _"No."_

Fred shrugged. "Yeah, you're right, it sounds too lame."

"Doctor Roboto?" Gogo raised skeptical eyebrows. "Lame is right."

Honey Lemon furrowed her brow. "Is that a video game reference? Or some song? I swear that sounds familiar."

Hiro perked up eagerly. Tadashi sobered at the devilish twinkle in his eyes. "I think we _should_ give Tadashi a nickname, though. I mean, Gogo's and Honey Lemon's describe them and Wasabi's the only one with a hilarious one. It's only fair if Tadashi gets a hilarious one, too, so Wasabi's not alone."

Wasabi gave him a flat look. "Am I supposed to appreciate that? You just made me glad I don't have a pesky little brother, little man."

Hiro beamed. "That means I'm doing my job as a pesky little brother right!" He leaned much too close into Tadashi's personal space. "Isn't that right, big brother?"

Tadashi planted a firm finger tip on his head and not so gently pushed him away. "Sure, little brother. By the way, as your big brother, I get exclusive rights to pick _your_ nickname. So your new nickname is Pest - short for Pestilence, that is."

Baymax blinked curiously. "Hiro is not a fatally epidemic disease."

"You just haven't known him long enough, Baymax," Tadashi informed his robot.

"Hey!" Hiro's smile told him he wasn't the least bit offended. "Don't listen to him, Baymax, I'm an angel from above. Besides, Fred is the one who comes up with the nicknames, remember?"

"Pest," Tadashi half-heartedly warned, "let's not forget you sleep within ten feet of me every night."

Hiro stuck his tongue out.

"I do not understand," Baymax continued. "Are nicknames meant to accurately describe one? If so, then why is Hiro a pestilence? My scanners indicate he is a human being, not a virus, bacteria, or germ, and they do not detect anything harmful in his systems."

"HA!" Hiro jeered.

Tadashi shoved the brat's head back.

"Don't worry about it, Baymax," Honey Lemon waved him off, "it's not that important. We're being silly is all. I mean, it's not like Wasabi is actually wasabi, and I'm not honey or a lemon. Think of Hiro and Pestilence in the same vein."

Baymax nodded once. "I see. Unlike food, knowledge of diseases are programmed extensively in my healthcare protocol, so I did not understand. Thank you, Honey Lemon."

"I DO agree it's high time Tadashi got a nickname, though," Fred spoke up, a devilish twinkle mirroring Hiro's in his eyes now. "How long have we known each other, bro? The fact a nickname hasn't presented itself yet is a shame. We need to do some brainstorming."

"YES!" Hiro cried with a punch forward. "It should be an embarrassing one, like Wasabi's!"

Gogo and Honey Lemon shook their heads in amusement.

Tadashi resisted the urge to smack the back of Hiro's head. Pesky little brother's job indeed. "All right, give me your best shots. We'll see if any of them stick. I guarantee they won't."

Wasabi shot up ramrod straight. "Wait, does he get veto power!? I want veto power! I'd rather be Felix than Wasabi!"

"No one gets veto power when it's Frederick Lee giving out nicknames!" Fred declared. He hunched over and tapped his fingers together, an evil look on his face. "Hmm, let's see; you're kind of a workaholic, dude - how about Buzzy Bee! Because you're always buzzing from one station to another and working on this or that or this that."

"What?" Hiro slumped. "No way, that sounds so dumb!"

Gogo picked at her plate. "Besides, Tadashi's way more calm when he working. He doesn't actually 'buzz' like you say he does."

"All right, all right," Fred held his hands up for peace. "I'm just warming up. Okay, how about...how often you pull all-nighters? You practically live on coffee when you get really obsessed with finishing a project. Seriously, in the morning you remind me of the dwarf from Snow White. So...Sleepy?"

Tadashi folded his arms. "Sleepy. When ninety percent of the time I'm well-rested and alert? You can do better than that, Fred."

"Sleep deprivation can be hazardous to one's health," Baymax pointed out.

Tadashi craned his neck, a little grin on his face. "True, though let's not forget you're one of the projects that kept me up a _lot_ of nights, pal."

Hiro put his palms on the table. "Come on, Fred, you have to have better, more embarrassing names than that!"

"It's not like 'Gogo,' 'Wasabi' or 'Honey Lemon' are that deeply thought out," Gogo retorted. "If you want your brother to have a dumb nickname like us, don't overthink it."

Hiro pouted.

"I'm not," Fred argued. "See, this is why the nicknames have to come at the right opportunity. Okay, okay, let me think for a second. ...Tadashi's a pretty neat person. Mr. Clean!"

Tadashi glanced at Wasabi. "Uh, I can be messy, Fred. 'Fact, I think Wasabi would make a more fitting 'Mr. Clean' than I would."

"I'll take Mr. Clean over Wasabi," he grumbled.

"No, no, you're stuck with Wasabi," Fred dismissed him. "But you're right, you're right. All right, okay, Freddie's got this."

"Sure you do," Gogo teased.

Fred cracked his knuckles. He looked up at Baymax smugly. "Simple, huh? Well, Tadashi is an awesome builder and awesome at coding his inventions. Coder?"

Tadashi rolled one shoulder. That wasn't a nickname he wanted to be called, no, but it was an improvement to the others. "I could live with that."

Hiro shot to his feet. "No! That's not embarrassing! We need something he can never live down!"

"Yeah, like Pest here," Tadashi quipped. He laughed as he dodged Hiro's swat. "Sorry, I meant Pestilence."

Wasabi grabbed Hiro by the arms before he could make another go at him. "Calm down. Geesh, and I thought you two were close."

Both brothers turned to Wasabi with the most baffled expressions.

"We are," Tadashi stated.

"This is literally what we do on a regular basis," Hiro explained. "A lot of brothers annoy and beat on each other."

"It's not like we actually hurt each other either," Tadashi added. "I don't go out of my way to cause him pain, and he has the strength of a week old kitten."

Hiro stiffened, then launched himself at Tadashi with a roar.

Wasabi was faster, though, snatching him up by the waist and dragging him halfway into his lap, grimacing at how the fourteen year old flailed.

Tadashi laughed. "I kid, baby brother, I kid; it's called exaggeration and trying to get under your skin. You're more like a two week old kitten."

Hiro howled, struggling to escape from Wasabi's grasp.

"Boys!" Aunt Cass hurried over, admonishment written all over her face. "What have I said about fighting in the café!? People are staring!"

Tadashi winced. Oops. He forget they were in public for a minute. "Sorry, Aunt Cass."

Hiro immediately gave the fight, giving her an apologetic smile. "Whoops. Forgot."

Aunt Cass put her hand on her hip. "Uh huh, _forgot._ We have a dumpster around back, take it out there if you have to. Seriously, calm down or take your breakfast upstairs. I'm running a business here, you two!"

The brothers flushed. "We're sorry, Aunt Cass," they chimed together.

Fred snickered. "Ah, parental scolding tames the nerdy beasts. - OOO, Cass, you're their aunt and raised them for, like, a whole decade! Wanna help us come up with an embarrassing nickname for Tadashi?"

Aunt Cass furrowed her brow. "Hanh?"

"We're coming up with nickname ideas for Tadashi," Honey Lemon told her, "like ours. Well, Fred's coming up with them, but we've been shutting them down. Do you have any ideas?"

"Like from when he was a little kid!" Fred was enthusiastic. "Any embarrassing stories I could pull a name from? Or better yet, any nicknames he had as a kid? Or...possibly still has behind closed doors?"

Tadashi lifted his head towards the ceiling, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Behind closed doors. You mean like how Aunt Cass calls me and Hiro 'baby'? Or calls me 'sweet boy' sometimes? For the record, if you call me either of those in public, guys, people are going to think we're dating."

Although he scoffed at the notion, Aunt Cass did take on a pensive look at the explanation. "Old nicknames, huh...? Well, I doubt you'd want to be call this in public either, Tadashi, but you did used to be called Teddy when you were little."

"'Teddy'!?" Gogo repeated, eyes widening. "Isn't that short for Theodore or something? What, is that his middle name?"

"No, it's not," Tadashi pursed his lips. Had he been called Teddy as a kid? Strangely, it sounded familiar, but he couldn't actually recall being called that. "Who came up with that?"

"Your mom did," Aunt Cass replied.

He straightened at the mention of Mom. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"That's so cute!" Honey Lemon exclaimed. "Where did she get it from?"

"Well, Tadashi was kind of her little teddy bear when he was little," Aunt Cass chuckled. "He was a big baby when he was born; nine pounds and something ounces. Three ounces? Something like that. You didn't really look it, but you were heavy. When you got a little older and could use your arms, you liked clinging to whoever held you like a little koala," she giggled at the memory. "Oh, and you used to LOVE taking naps cuddled up with her. It was your favorite way to fall asleep during the day. You know what, I think you threw a tantrum once when you were...three? Two? Anyway, you threw a tantrum when it was bedtime because you wanted to sleep with your mom, but she and your dad weren't ready for bed yet and they tried to put you down in your room. She told me all about it the next day! So your mom stared calling you her little teddy bear, which eventually turned into Teddy. She used it less and less as you grew up, though. Hiro, you don't remember your mom calling your brother Teddy, do you?"

Hiro, who had next to no memories of their parents, had a surprisingly perplexed expression on his face. "Uh...actually, I didn't before, but now that you say it, I _think_ I do? Maybe once? Did - Did I ask you once why he was called Teddy?"

Aunt Cass's face lit up. "You did! That was a few months before the accident! It had been ages since the last time your mom called him Teddy, so you were confused. You were so cute. Especially since you had your own nicknames for Tadashi - Tada and Dashi, ripped straight from his name. I think that's why 'Teddy' confused you."

Tadashi did a doubletake. He had no recollection of being called Teddy. Funny how out of the two of them, it was Hiro, who'd been _three_ when Mom and Dad died, who did. But while he didn't recall the nickname, Hiro was also right; it _did_ sound so familiar. He guessed Mom really had stopped using it often as he got older.

"Was she the only one that called me it?" he asked.

Aunt Cass shifted her weight. "Think so. Your dad liked things like 'champ,' sport,' and 'son.' And of course you've always been my sweet boy."

He blinked. Something about that left a small, slightly confusing warmth in his chest. He really did miss their parents, even now. Finding out Mom had had a special nickname for him as a kid was - well, both weird and a bit disappointing that he couldn't remember it, but also nice. It was another thing he could hang onto when that old grief that never truly went away snuck up on him. He could picture Mom carrying a baby version of himself from old photographs, who held onto her like a koala, joking around with Dad, _'Look, honey, I got my little teddy bear and we're ready for a nap; aren't we, Teddy?'_

A tiny corner of his heart ached.

"I don't think I want that to be my nickname, guys," he told the others slowly. "I think that should just stay my mom's for me."

The others nodded quietly.

Hiro huffed through his nose indignantly, either missing the sentimentality or ignoring it. Tadashi merely rolled his eyes and ignored it for once; their parents were never Hiro's favorite discussion anyhow. "It's not embarrassing enough anyway. Strangers would think it's your real name! Anything else, Aunt Cass?"

She cocked her head with an indifferent curl of her lips. "Mehh, I wouldn't know. Unless all the trouble you two caused as a kids count and you want to go with Trouble Maker, or something along those lines."

"Nah," Fred shook his head. "Doesn't fit him enough now. Although, maybe Hiro..."

"NEXT!" Hiro shot it down.

"Then I got nothing," she reported. She smoothed a hand over the back of Tadashi's head and reached to stroke Hiro's cheek before turning away. "I've got hot breakfasts to check on. Tell me what you come up with tonight!"

"It's cute that your mom called you Teddy," Honey Lemon remarked.

"Yeah," Fred agreed, leaning back in his seat and hooking his arm up on the top of the chair. "You are a big softy, ya know. If it wasn't your mom's thing, I could totally see it as your nickname."

Tadashi gave them a crooked smile. "I guess? I can't believe I don't remember that, though. If Hiro remembers, then I had to have been ten the last time she called me it."

"No one remembers everything from their childhood," Gogo pointed out.

Hiro folded his arms, less indignant than before. "I don't _really_ remember it. It's like...a super blurry and hard to hear video that only lasts a couple seconds. If you'd asked me without Aunt Cass' explanation, I wouldn't have had any idea what you were talking about."

"I think it's nice," Wasabi commented. "It's another thing you have of your mom now. Who knows, maybe more memories you didn't realize you forgot will pop up."

"Maybe," Tadashi drew out the word.

He kind of hoped so. Despite the ache, it was nice being reminded of something from Mom. Maybe something he'd forgotten about Dad would come up next.

Honey Lemon's phone suddenly went off. She picked it up and unlocked it. "Oh! We need to hurry up, you guys. They're going to close the labs down at eleven for maintenance today."

"What!?" Wasabi protested. "They can't spring that on us on such short notice! Why!?"

"It says they apologize for the surprise, a technical glitch prevented the mass email from going out two days ago and they just now became aware of the error," she read off her phone. "It'll reopen tomorrow morning and they apologize for the inconvenience. That doesn't give us a lot of time to work on our stuff. We should head over and grab what we can to work on off campus."

Baymax inclined his head. "Will this interfere with your disintegration testing?"

"Not if I get it done before we leave and the lab shuts down. We do have a few hours."

Gogo dropped her fork on her plate, hauling herself up to stand. "Let's go then."

"I'm not allowed to take certain materials out of the labs; it's prohibited, they're too dangerous!" Wasabi whined, following her lead. "Oh, this day is just starting out FANTASTIC! First my shirt, now this!"

Hiro, now free from Wasabi's grasp, shot to his feet. "Wait! What about Tadashi's nickname? He needs an embarrassing one!"

"Another day, Pest," Tadashi retorted, picking up his and Hiro's plates as he, too, rose. "We've got work to do and just got a time crunch on some of it. Let's go."

"We'll have to let it present itself on its own, Hiro," Fred shrugged, jumping out of his chair and stacking the others' plates on top of his. "Don't worry, I'm sure an embarrassing one with show itself in no time!"

Hiro moaned overdramatically. "No fair."

Tadashi knocked him in the arm. "Come on, grow up. Or I will start seriously calling you Pest."

He grumbled something under his breath at that, but Tadashi didn't linger on it, because just as quickly, Hiro seemed to lose interest in the subject. He watched his brother hop over to Baymax's side, already babbling about his microbots updates, and lead him with Wasabi and the girls to the door while Tadashi and Fred went to get rid of their dishes for Aunt Cass.

Tadashi laughed under his breath. College student or not, superhero leader or not, it was times like these that it was _very_ easy to remember Hiro was only fourteen.

All in all, it was another average morning for the gang in San Fransokyo. He wouldn't want it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> (I hate coming up with endings. If it feels weird or abrupt, I apologize.) This is more slice of life-y than plot, but I had a headcanon I wanted to write out, so here we are!
> 
> The Korean dub of Big Hero 6 changed Hiro and Tadashi Hamada's names to Hero and Teddy Armada. While the fact that they did that is weird to me, I do love the name they picked for Tadashi. Teddy is so cute! So I came up with this headcanon that Teddy is a childhood nickname of Tadashi's that his mom gave him.
> 
> Felix is also my name for Wasabi.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
